Mid-Autumn Festival （中秋节 zhōng qiū jié）, commonly referred to as the Moon Festival, is observed every year on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the Chinese calendar. This year, that day falls on September 29. Families and friends gather to celebrate this holiday with fun activities like moon gazing, moon cake eating, and bunny lantern making. We’re not unfamiliar with this yearly event, but only a few people know what Mid-Autumn actually is. Are you curious about how did it all start? Why is it still celebrated up to this day? We’re here to satisfy your curiosity towards Mid-Autumn Festival!
The Backstory of Mid-Autumn Festival
The festival started with a legend about Hou Yi(后裔 hòu yì) and Chang E（嫦娥 cháng é）. Long time ago, when there were ten suns in the sky, the world was full of chaos. A lot of people were killed, crops were destroyed. Hou Yi was called by the Emperor of Heaven to eliminate nine suns. Hou Yi succeeded, the weather instantly improved, and lives were saved. The elixir of immortality was given as a reward to Hou Yi. Hou Yi met Chang E while he was on Earth, and the two fell in love and got married.
Hou Yi went to the Queen Mother to request the elixir of life because he desired to live his entire life with Chang E. The Queen Mother decided to give Hou Yi the elixir, enough for two individuals to share half of it, in exchange for the good actions he had done for the Earth. When Hou Yi got home, he told his wife that on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, when the moon was full and brilliant, they will consume it together. However, a cunning guy named Feng Meng （逢蒙 féng méng）heard the news and desired to steal the elixir for himself.
Before Hou Yi got home from his hunting trip on the fifteenth day, Feng Meng went to Hou Yi’s house and coerced Chang E into giving him the elixir. She had no other option but to swallow the elixir, because she was aware that she could not defeat Feng Meng. Hou Yi discovered that his wife had been taken to Heaven when he returned. Because the Moon is closest to the Earth, Chang E chose to dwell there. Hou Yi offered the meals Chang E used to enjoy in the garden as a sacrifice while gazing up at the moon. Thus, on this day, people began to adore the moon. Later, Chang E and Hou Yi correspondingly became known as the yin and yang.
This is also the reason why Chinese put extra emphasize on the moon. Click this link to find out Why Chinese people love the moon!
Spirit Animal of Mid-Autumn Festival
Jade Rabbit（玉兔 yù tù） has also become the symbol of Mid-Autumn. The markings of the moon are said to look like a rabbit holding a mortar and pestle, who accompanies Chang E on the moon.
The Tradition
This festival only became an official celebration in China during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) when ancient emperors of China would host a feast to make offerings to deities and the moon in celebration of the year’s harvest. Mid-autumn festival then evolved into a festival of many traditions: to give thanks to the moon, pray for better luck, fortune and fertility, and reunite with the family to celebrate and admire the moon in its full glory.
When gathering with friends and family, there is one special food in particular that has to be eaten each year. Do you know what it is? Yes, you guessed it right! The Mooncake （月饼 yuè bǐng）!
Mooncakes symbolise togetherness（亲密无间 qīn mì wú jiàn） and harmony（和谐 hé xié）. Mooncakes are usually eaten in small wedges with families or friends during the night of Mid-Autumn, often served with tea or wine. It is often paired with all different kinds of beverages nowadays, but the most traditional during Mid-Autumn Festival is probably osmanthus wine, because as we mentioned in the previous article：Include These Activities on your Autumn To-Do-List!, this flower blooms during Fall.
How to make Mooncake
Do you want to make your own mooncake? Try it out by following these 4 simple steps:
To start off, prepare these ingredients（材料 cái liào）：
– 200g Medium-grained flour（中筋面粉 zhōng jīn miàn fěn）
– 4g Baking soda water（枧水 jiǎn shuǐ）
– 140g Sugar syrup（转化糖浆 zhuǎn huà táng jiāng）
– 50g Peanut oil（花生油 huā shēng yóu）
– Salted egg（咸鸡蛋 xián jī dàn）
Making process (制作过程 zhì zuò guò chéng）：
A. Fillings （馅料 xiàn liào）（about 15 mooncakes can be made with 75g of this ingredient）
Flavor（味道 wèi dào）: Egg yolk and white lotus seed paste （蛋黄白莲蓉 dàn huáng bái lián róng） ；It is one of the most popular mooncake flavors
– Duck egg yolk （鸭蛋黄 yā dàn huáng）15g
– Lotus paste filling （莲蓉馅 lián róng xiàn）
Spray a layer of white wine（白酒 bái jiǔ）on the surface of duck egg yolk and bake it in the oven at 180 degree celcius for 8 minutes. Take it out until it is cool, then wrap it with lotus paste to form a ball.
B. Dough （面团 miàn tuán）
1. Add sugar syrup, baking soda water, and peanut oil into the flour, stir evenly with a scraper, knead into a dough, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
2. After taking out the dough, knead it and divide it into small balls weighing 25g each.
3. Gently press the small dough ball, wrap the filling and knead it into a round ball, with the closing point serving as the bottom part of the mooncake. Cover the wrapped mooncake balls with a thin layer of corn starch to prevent adhesion and place them in mooncake mold to shape the pattern.
4. After every ball is pressed, sprinkle some water on the surface to keep it moist. Place it in a 200 degrees Celsius preheated oven and bake for 5 minutes. After it has come to its shape, take it out. Brush a layer of egg yolk solution on each mooncake, and continue to bake it at 180 degrees Celsius for about 15 minutes.
Previously, Mandarin Inn have also held mooncake making workshop.
Mid-Autumn Festival is the perfect time to gather with your loved ones. You can try out this recipe if you got no plans for the holiday. Kindly share this article if you managed to successfully make your own mooncake! Until then, we wish you…
中秋节快乐！
zhōng qiū jié kuài lè
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!
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